Money and quality of life remain top talent magnets, and more organizations are finding ways to leverage those drivers to address local acquisition needs.
A new Robert Half Canada survey found that of the nearly one in two Canadians willing to relocate for work, 46% would be looking for better pay and benefits. Ipsos research on interprovincial mobility, commissioned for the Canadian Employee Relocation Council (CERC), shows more Canadians were willing to relocate in-province and out-of-province in 2018 than they were in 2014, provided the right incentives were in place.
Another Robert Half survey of senior managers revealed 22% of Canadian organizations have increased what they offer in their relocation packages.
It’s not just businesses that are anteing up and raising the stakes in the war for talent.
Governments, foundations and business associations throughout North America are increasingly willing to invest in helping local companies attract workers.
In Kansas, for example, the state will waive income taxes for up to five years or contribute up to US$15,000 in student loan repayments over the same time for new full-time residents who move to one of 77 rural counties and who hold an associate’s, bachelor’s or postgraduate degree.
The program is one of several in the United States that are aimed at repatriating talent, attracting new workers or repopulating an area that has seen its numbers dwindle.
“We’ve not seen anything like that in Canada as yet,” said CERC CEO Stephen Cryne, who added that he wouldn’t be surprised if Quebec tabled similar incentives. The province is facing a significant skills shortage and recently sent a trade junket to France to recruit skilled workers.
Some forward-looking organizations, Cryne said, are starting to consider new ways of recruiting, similar to those seen down south.
They include the Talent Attraction Program funded by the Hamilton Community Foundation in Ohio. The program offers “reverse scholarships” of up to US$5,000 for recent graduates of science, technology, engineering, mathematics or arts programs who move to and work in the city. To retain new talent, the funds get distributed over 25 months.
Nebraska’s North Platte Area Chamber of Commerce & Development Corp. offers local employers up to US$5,000 in matching funds per open position to help companies develop more attractive worker incentive packages.
According to Cassie Condon, the organization’s vice-president of economic development, WorkNP has thus far brought 10 workers to the area and is anticipated to recruit as many as 70 highly skilled employees to Lincoln County by April 2020.
But money is not the only motivator for talent.
CERC research shows that, while financial incentives factor into interprovincial relocation, international relocation is less about employment and more about quality of life.
“Essentially what we found is that individuals were more likely to consider moving to a country that was friendly to immigrants, had a good social support system and had access to good-quality health care,” Cryne said. “Canada hits the mark on all three of those.”
Canada’s openness and tolerance of immigrants makes the country an attractive competitor in the global war for talent.
Overall, the country ranks 15th on the World Economic Forum’s Global Talent Competitiveness Index: ahead of the United States in its ability to attract workers, and behind its southern neighbour in its ability to retain them.
“I think the top three [motivators] are career, mobility and upside,” said Mike Shekhtman, Robert Half’s regional manager in Vancouver, who noted that affordability challenges in Vancouver and Toronto have caused a “big pull-away” of talent.
It’s a competitive landscape, one where the livability of regions the world over is touted by economic development boards and business associations in increasingly sophisticated marketing campaigns. Some areas in the U.S. go so far as to offer tax breaks, interest-free loans and cash for new residents interested in buying property or land.
Both Cryne and Shekhtman agreed that the decision to relocate is ultimately a very personal one, and Cryne questioned how likely workers may be to move to rural locations. That doesn’t mean cities should leave affordability and acquisition challenges unaddressed.
“Talent follows talent, and we have to recognize that,” he said.
“There are some things at a federal level and a provincial level that could be done within the tax code to provide incentives for people to consider moving.” •
